“Slashed careers” on the rise to diversify incomes

Encouraging professionals to slash their careers

Laurence Stybel is a noted psychologist, author, and professional who works with leaders on retained search, leadership development, and career management. He uses the latest behavioral science research and practice to help leaders increase their effectiveness.

Stybel encourages business professionals to “slash” their careers; meaning having two or more different sources of actual or potential income. Basically, don’t put all of your income eggs in one basket.

According to Stybel, professionals who lead slashed careers may be more valuable to employers because they are forced to think in non-linear terms.

To further the idea, think of women roles as being the model of filling multiple roles: mother / professional / daughter / wife. Those who lead slashed professional lives have the experience to of thinking outside the box and offer a unique perspective than those who focus on one primary vocation.

Advantages of a slashed career

Furthermore, a slashed career may offer more income stability than a strictly linear income source. Should one face furloughs, layoffs, or cutbacks at one position… the second career may help temporarily bridge a gap until things settle back out.

Also, taking a hobby to the next level can prove to be a stress relief as well as adding extra income. Sounds like a win-win.

Drawbacks to slashing

There are potential drawbacks to slashing your income sources, however. Perhaps the most obvious is that juggling more than one job may cause you to fail to develop your career, thereby stunting potential growth. When all of your income is based on a single role, you may be more willing to pour more energy and focus into developing new & productive ways of operating.

The primary motivation being the only source of income and more at stake in the case of failure. Instead of having two or three roles to play, all of your attention can be poured into perfecting your expertise.

Slashing your career by adding a second is definitely worth looking into to diversify your income, but don’t do it at the expense of the other.

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Tasha Salinas is a staff writer at AGBeat, holding a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications and Journalism from Northeastern University. She is an info geek who reads, talks, & thinks way too much. You don't want to know how long it took her to write this bio. You can find her at facebook.com/TashaSalinas.